Monday December 2, 2002

MEDIA RELEASE - WESTERN AUSTRALIAN REGIONAL OFFICE

Record cold snap in Perth

Perth today experienced a minimum temperature of 8.4 degrees Celsius at 4:16am, the lowest minimum temperature for December on record at the official Perth observation site. The previous record for December of 8.6 degrees was recorded on 29 December 1957. The average minimum for December is 15 degrees.

The table below shows the top 10 lowest December minima for Perth on record.

Other December records around the metropolitan area this morning included Jandakot airport 3.2 degrees (10 years of record), Perth airport 4.8 (58 years), Swanbourne 8.3 (seven years), and Rottnest Island 11.7 (eight years at current site). The lowest minimum temperature for the state today was 2.0 degrees at Wandering.

December top 10 lowest minima in Perth
Position Date Min
temp°C
1 2 December 2002 8.4
2 29 December 1957 8.6
3 10 December 1955 8.8
3 22 December 2000 8.8
5 2 December 1910 8.9
5 19 December 1950 8.9
5 3 December 1954 8.9
8 1 December 1912 9.1
9 16 December 1907 9.2
10 6 December 1930 9.3

Note: Official Perth observations have been recorded at several different sites over the years. Changes in site location can affect both temperature and rainfall readings, though the effect on maximum temperature readings has been very small. Due to a relatively short period of record for the current site, temperature averages have been estimated to represent that site.

Ends

Further information:
John Relf (JR), or John Cramb, tel:(08) 9263 2222 or, after hours, the senior forecaster.